Read Online Ahead of the Darkness by Simone Nicole - Free Book Online Page B

tomorrow. I’m sure if I asked Drew he’d get one.
    “What about a Cosmo?”
    “I’ll see what I can do about next time. I love a good daiquiri.”
    “How’d you know?”
    “It’s one of the best things you can make with a blender in a bar.”
    She laughed. “I guess so.”
    “Give me a minute while I find all the things, but ID’s first, ladies, can’t be getting fired on the first day now, can I?” They smiled, pulled out their ID’s, none were above the age of 20— and began gossiping amongst themselves.
    The bar wasn’t set up to be a cocktail bar, even with the impressive wall of alcohol it more like a pub. I was going to have to do something about that. The best part of working in a bar was making elaborate drinks.
    I found most of what I needed except olives, pineapple and apple slices, but was sure the girls would overlook that small detail.
    I set a highball glass and two shakers in front of me and filled each with ice. I put two cocktail glasses in the fridge to chill while I mixed the drinks. This was where the girls stopped and paid attention, their gaze were glued to my hands as I poured first the vodka. Two shots in each, three in the Martini. A shot of triple sec in the Cosmo, a shot and a half of peach schnapps in the Sex and half a shot of apple liquor in the martini. I added equal parts of cranberry and pineapple juice to one, and a splash cranberry and a squeeze of lime to the other.
    I placed the slightly cooler cocktail glasses from the fridge in front of the girls. I shook both shakers, strained them into the glasses, gave a little stir with a straw to the highball glass and placed it between the two.
    “Voila, just minus the fresh garnishes.” They stared at me, open-mouthed. The most vocal of the three recovered first.
    “Wow, just wow! Where’d you learn to do that?”
    “That was fantastic!”
    “Well bugger me!”
    “I’ve worked in a few bars. You pick up a few things.” I’d done a lot of classes with my excess free time.
    “So that’s a tenner each.”
    “Oh ...”
    “Yeah.”
    “Sorry ...”
    They handed me their cash and took big swigs of their drinks, moaning in delight. I hoped they’d had big meals earlier, otherwise I was predicting a messy night.
    “Well, I’ll be damned. Where did you come from? Little Mi has some skills.” Jules, appearing out of nowhere, startled me.
    “Oh, please. Just because you can’t pour a beer without getting it everywhere.” Mac was clearly unimpressed, and walked off to serve a few guys that had just walked in.
    “So, Mia. Tell me all about yaself; favourite colour, cup size, sexual position, phone number, ya know, the usual.” Jules seemed to have waited long enough to bombard me with questions.
    “Favourite colour?”
    “Out of that list, you found that one the strangest?”
    “From the little I've seen of you, yes. What value could the fact I like green be to you?”
    “Well, now I know what colour to wear when I take you out, now don't I?” I looked at him, confused. “You don't like it when a guy wears your favourite colour?” Oooh.
    “Not especially. If I don't like them it could ruin the colour for me.”
    “You wound me.” He mocked, and laughed along with Angus. “So?”
    “So?”
    “Don’t hold out on me, what about the rest?” He smiled at me, full well knowing I wouldn’t give those details up. I just looked at him with a sort of bored expression.
    “Ye done harassing my staff?” I stiffened at Drew’s reappearance behind me, and frowned at the slight exaggeration of the word my .
    “I was doing no such thing to ‘your’ staff.” I hadn’t been the only one who noticed. What was that about?
    “Drew!”
    “Hiya Becki, what ye got there?”
    “Your brilliant new girl here made us all cocktails.” It seemed the drinks were kicking in already. “She’s our new favourite, and you need to get her a blender.” Yeah, Becki was on her way.
    “Aye?”
    “I told them to go hard on me,